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My Trip to Malaysia, Summer 2012 – Part I

I have just come back from an amazing holiday in Malaysia, enjoying many places and sights that the country had to offer, making some great memories which will last forever. It was a nice break from the routine that I had in Saudi Arabia because of my studies in the university. We bought the air-plane tickets two months prior to our flight date from Qatar Airways for almost $750 (Dammam to Doha to Kuala Lumpur and the way back). The price was very reasonable for such a long flight (approximately 7 hours). Most of our money was exchanged into Malaysian Ringgit in Al Amoudi Exchange Company in Saudi Arabia. It is advisable to carry some cash in other currencies, dollars and euros, along with your credit card.

This is the first part of the trip. I will focus solely on Kuala Lumpur.

Part I: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Our group consisted of 4 people. Ahmad and I went from Dammam, and our two other friends, Saeed and Abdullah, came from Jeddah but in different flights. We got gathered up in Kuala Lumpur International Airport, KLIA and decided to take a taxi to V’la Garden Hotel (click on the link for my personal hotel review) in Bukit Bintang. The first question that comes to anyone at that time is: “How can you take a taxi from KLIA to the city?” It is easier than what you think. After you pass the immigration and take your luggage you will find a taxi counter. KLIA has good system that you buy the taxi ticket from the counter inside the airport for a fixed price (RM 80 for a normal taxi cab, RM 200 for a big family cab) and then you go out of the airport and give it to any taxi driver you want to go with. We took a family car which costed us RM 200. It was not a wise decision honestly, because you can take a bus to KL Sentral (RM 10 – one way per person) and then a Monorail to Imbi station (about RM1.2) where our hotel is located, that would give RM11.2 instead of RM 50 for each. Buses from KL Sentral to KLIA start at 5am to 11pm, however, buses from KLIA to KL Sentral start from 6:30am to 12:30am. There is a bus every 30 minutes; the bus will approximately take one hour to get to either KL Sentral or KLIA. You can buy the tickets from the counter, for more information click here.

Kuala Lumpur International Airport, KLIA by chikao-airways

The trip from KLIA to the hotel was enjoyable, the view from the window was simply beautiful. Once we got to V’la Garden Hotel, the staff welcomed us nicely and we entered our rooms before the check-in time 40 minutes, which was good. After that, we had a rest for a while and then decided to go out and see the city, it was 4 o’clock at that time. Unfortunately, I did not sleep during the flight so I was really feeling sleepy. Simply, I slept until 10pm. After that, we went out for a walk around the city. Although it was incredibly humid outside, walking in Kuala Lumpur at night was simply amazing. In fact, it was almost everyday that we hung out on streets near Bukit Bintang area.

Bukit Bintang at night by phalinn

Petronas Twin Towers
The only thing I knew about Malaysia was these twin towers. This is a MUST visit place for tourists. We went to Petronas Twin Towers several times and walked in the mall inside which is called Suria KLCC. My father told be before going to Malaysia that the entry to the bridge is free of charge but I have to get there early, like before 9am. This sounded just right to me. However, when we decided to go to the bridge and see the city from above. The guy there told us that the system has changed and is no loner free as before. The admission to the towers had gone up to RM 80 (if you are a student, then it is RM 60) after it was RM 50 in the past. Tickets are still limited, around 1300 per day. It was a 50-minute tour. They will give you a short presentation for like 5 minutes and then you will get 25 minutes in floor 86 and around 20 minutes in the bridge which floor 42. We did one of the most stupid things ever, we forgot our cameras in the hotel so we took photos with our mobiles instead *sighs*.

The Petronas Towers

Me with the Petronas Towers

Group photo with the twin towers

The View From Petronas Twin Towers Floor 86.

The View From Petronas Twin Towers Floor 86.

The queue in the basement before the check-in

Short presentation before the tour

The View From Petronas Twin Towers Floor 86.

The View From Petronas Twin Towers Floor 86.

The View From Petronas Twin Towers Floor 86.

Me in Petronas Twin Towers Floor 86.

Petronas Twin Towers Floor 86.

The View From Petronas Twin Towers Floor 86.

Twin Towers Bridge, floor 42.

Twin Towers Bridge, floor 42.

Twin Towers Bridge, floor 42.

Twin Towers Bridge, floor 42.

Aquaria KLCC
I truly loved this place. It was my first time to see many of the sea creatures in one place. There is a tunnel where you can take your time to enjoy the sharks passing by you along with the other fishes and sea creatures. There is a unique sea creÃ¤ture called Sea Cucumber. The guy there allowed us to touch it without taking it out of the water. What a weird feeling; a big, soft cucumber that inflates itself when you touch it and hopelessly tries to move. It was really worth it to visit Aquaria KLCC. Entrance ticket is RM 45 for adults, however, because we are students we got in there for RM 30.

Aquaria KLCC

What kind of a fish are you?

Aquaria KLCC

Aquaria KLCC

Ahmad and me in Aquaria

Saeed looking at the aquarium

Saeed and Abdullah in Aquaria

China Town
If you want to buy watches, wallets, I love Malaysia t-shirts, and fake football shirts, then this is the right place for you in Kuala Lumpur. The market of Petaling Street is in the heart of Chinatown. If you don’t dare to buy or eat anything (well, that’s me), it is worth to enjoy the atmosphere, especially at night. However, if you want to buy anything try haggling, because that the way they do it there. Also, I found their products noticeably over-priced. I bought a fake G-Shock watch from Berjaya Times Square for RM 15 (after haggling with the girl) and I found the same watches (exact model) for EM 35 there. The guy was acting stupid when I told him I got this for RM 15. I won’t be impressed if you get something for %60 off the ask price. In general, I would recommend visiting China Town just for enjoying the place.

China Town

China Town

China Town

China Town

China Town

China Town

Berjaya Times SquareBerjaya Times Square is a really big mall. It has about 700 retail shops, 1200 luxury service suites, and 45 food outlets. Also, it has the largest indoor theme park in Asia with 14 rides in total. You will notice that from when you are eating at McDonald’s and in all of a sudden people start screaming in the 800m long roller coaster. The theme park is open from 12am to 10pm everyday. We used to visit this mall almost everyday to have our lunch at McDonald’s, Wendy’s, or Marry Brown (Please note that all American food chains in Malaysia are Halal). Also, we watched two movies in Golden Screen Cinemas inside the mall which is Malaysia’s first IMAX 2D & 3D theatre. One that I didn’t like at all and I would give it 3/10, Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, and the other one is The Amazing Spider-Man and I liked it. The ticket for a 2D movie costs about RM 15 and about RM 21 for a 3D movie. Students are entitled for a discount for movies starting before 6PM. There are many good brands for shopping in the mall. For instance: Timberland, Bossini, Voir Gallery, Titan , Esprit, Blush!, Dockers, Levi’s, Tag Heuer and Dior.

Berjaya Times Square and Imbi monorail station by Shorinji Kempo.

Saeed and me in Papa Johns Pizza that is inside Berjaya Times Square.

Jalan Imbi

GSC inside Berjaya Times Square

GSC inside Berjaya Times Square

GSC inside Berjaya Times Square

Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter Poster

Islamic Arts Museum Malaysia
We visited the museum on our Hop-On Hop-Off City Tour Bus trip (Station #16). This is the place to visit if you are interested in Islamic art. The museum has over 7000 artifacts, having examples of Islamic metalwork and ceramics. People can spend hours looking at everything. I found it above average because I’m not that interested in arts. The museum shop has a some good gifts which I, personally, believe they are over priced. The entrance ticket is RM 12 (adult) if you are a student, just bring your card and you will pay RM 6.

Islamic Arts Museum Malaysia

Islamic Arts Museum Malaysia

Islamic Arts Museum Malaysia

Islamic Arts Museum Malaysia

Islamic Arts Museum Malaysia

Islamic Arts Museum Malaysia

Islamic Arts Museum Malaysia

Islamic Arts Museum Malaysia

The holy Quran in Islamic Arts Museum Malaysia

Me sitting inside Islamic Arts Museum Malaysia

Islamic Arts Museum Malaysia

National Museum of MalaysiaJabatan Muzium Malaysia, Jalan Damansara 50566 Kuala Lumpur, Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur.
Another place worth visiting in KL is National Museum of Malaysia. The admission is RM 5 for adults. It opens from 9am to 6pm. I was the best museum I visited in Malaysia although it was simple. Guided tours in different languages is available and it is a great place if you want to learn about the history of Malaysia. The museum is divided into four galleries.
Gallery A: Early history including Sundaland, Perak Man, Dongson Drum, and Buddha Gupta Stone.
Gallery B: The Malay Kingdoms including trade routes, Malacca, Islam, and Keris.
Gallery C: The Colonial Era including The Portuguese, The Dutch, The British, and The Japanese.
Gallery D: Malaysia Today including Post-War Era, 1948-1960 Emergency, 1957 Independence, and Modern Malaysia. (Galleries information were quoted from cal6060, virtual tourist).

National Museum Malaysia

Me, Saeed, and Ahmad outside the museum.

Inside the museum

The Royal Throne of Perak

National Museum Malaysia

Bronze Age

Mural of Hang Tuah

The Holy Quran

Merdeka Square
On the 31st of August, 1957. Malaysia proclaimed its independence from Britain here. Merdeka means independence in Malay. You can get to Merdeka Square on foot from China Town. From Petaling Street is a 10-minute walk to the independence square. Also, the Hop-On Hop-Off City Tour Bus stops there.

A cat taking a photo with me in Merdaka Square

Merdaka Square

Merdaka Square

Merdaka Square

Merdaka Square

Merdaka Square

Merdaka Square

Merdaka Square

Merdaka Square

Drinking Orange juice in Merdaka Square

Merdaka Square

Batu Caves
Batu Caves is a hill that has a number of caves and cave temples. It is located in the district of Gombak (approximately 13 kilometres north of Kuala Lumpur). If you want to go to Batu Caves you have to go to KL Sentral and then take the train to Batu Caves. The ticket costs RM 1 only. The name is taken from Sungai Batu or Batu River, which flows past the hill. CAUTION:Be careful of the monkeys in the stairs! They wanted to snatch my bag on my way up to the caves, funny but it is real. Do not feed the monkeys.

A group photo in Batu Caves

Me in the train to Batu Caves

Abdullah in the train to Batu Caves

The train from KL Sentral to Batu Caves

Batu Caves

Batu Caves

Batu Caves

Batu Caves Stairs

Inside a cave in Batu Caves

Me inside a cave in Batu Caves

Me in Batu Caves

Me, Abdullah, and Saeed in Batu Caves

Batu Caves

The group inside Batu Caves

Inside Batu Caves

Inside Batu Caves

Inside Batu Caves

Finally, I would like to show some Bukit Bintang photos, the area where we spent some great days.

Jalan Bukit Bintang (Jalan means street).

Bukit Bintang

Bukit Bintang

Inside McDonald’s in Bukit Bintang

Bukit Bintang at night

A guy in Bukit Bintang selling grilled corn

These are not all the places we’ve been to, however, I guess these are the ones that are worth mentioning. I hope you enjoyed reading this blog entry. I will update this post every time I remember something missing. The second part will be posted soon, so stay tuned. If you have any questions please leave your comments. Thanks!

Hi Moe,
There is no question about the beauty of Malaysia, the city of KL and the people. Am glad you enjoyed your trip. I like your photos so much.
Regards,
Freddie

http://MoeAmine.com Mohamed Amine

Hello Freddie!
Thank you very much for reading my article dear friend. And yes, Malaysia is absolutely beautiful.

Lionel

hey man! i am a malaysian, and i stumbled onto your blog (via stumbleupon, if you can believe it).

nice post :) and thanks for being so gracious about my country (kidding :P) but really, i enjoyed reading and seeing the pics through the eyes of a visitor.

god bless!

http://MoeAmine.com Mohamed Amine

Thank you Lionel for your nice comment! Actually the country deserves all the best and people were definitely nice with us from the first day in Malaysia.

http://notmyholiday.com Surminga

Wow, looks like you had a great time – I’d love to check out the Petronas towers at some point.
Great photos

http://reeltorealflicks.blogspot.com wordylilchacha

You have very comprehensive travel blog in Malaysia. I’ll definitely read it again when it’s my turn to visit this country.

thanks for sharing the info.

http://definitelymeagan.blogspot.com Meagan Ritchie

What a fab post! I live in KL, and have seen most of these places. You tell the story so well and your pictures are magnificent!

Faisal khan

Bro you rock, I’m sure so many people get so much benefit from your great blog I m traveling in November with my kids and sure I will remember your tips. By the way, where is the rest of trip?
Thank you.

http://MoeAmine.com Mohamed Amine

Thank you for dropping by, Faisal. I am glad that you found it beneficial. I got to be honest regarding the second part, I did not even start writing it because of my studies. If you are interested, subscribe to the blog so you can get notified once I post it in the few couples of weeks inshallah. Thanks.

Malaysian

Perak is a nice state in Malaysia to visit too. It’s only a few hours from KL. Me and husband went there and we were thrilled to visit Kelly’s Castle and Kuala Kangsar, which is famous for its clay pots.

About me

Hi! I am Mohamed Amine, Algerian, 24 years old and I am a petroleum engineer! To know more about me, visit my personal page.